Developer API

Ruin images at scale, programmatically

A simple REST API for the Make It Worse engine. Authenticate with an API key, POST an image, and get back beautifully degraded output. Pay only for what you ruin with prepaid credits.

Get your API key Read the reference

Quickstart

Create an account — you get free credits to start.
Generate an API key in your dashboard.
Send your first request:

bash

curl -X POST "https://api.worst.technology/v1/degrade" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer mw_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -F "file=@photo.jpg" \
  -F "preset=whatsapp_renaissance" \
  -F "output_format=jpeg" \
  -o ruined.jpg

Authentication

All requests must include your secret API key as a Bearer token. Keys look like mw_live_… and are shown only once at creation. Keep them secret; never embed them in client-side code.

http

Authorization: Bearer mw_live_YOUR_KEY

Rate limited per key. Exceeding the limit returns 429 Too Many Requests.

Endpoint

POST

https://api.worst.technology/v1/degrade

Send either multipart/form-data or application/json. Multipart defaults to a binary image response, while JSON requests default to JSON responses. Binary responses include useful headers (X-Credits-Remaining,X-Request-Id,X-Degradation-Seed). Each successful call costs credits; failed runs are automatically refunded.

Field	Type	Notes
file	file	JPEG / PNG / WEBP, max 15 MB. Required unless image_base64 is sent
image_base64	string	Base64 image (data: URL prefix optional). Alternative to file for JSON-only clients
preset	string	Optional. One of the preset ids below. Default: whatsapp_renaissance
intensity, noise, blur, jpeg_damage, color_chaos, pixelation, vignette	int 0–100	Core degradation controls. Default 50 (pixelation & vignette default 0)
chromatic_aberration, scanlines, posterize, sharpen, glitch, grain	int 0–100	Optional additive effects layered on top of any preset. Default 0 (off)
brightness, contrast, saturation	int -100–100	Bipolar tone adjustments. Default 0 (neutral)
quality	int 1–100	Optional. Pins the final JPEG quality, overriding jpeg_damage
hue_rotate	int -180–180	Optional. Rotates the hue wheel by a fixed angle
seed	int	Optional. Reproduces an identical run
output_format	string	jpeg \| png \| webp. Default jpeg
response (query)	string	binary (default) returns the image; json returns a presigned URL

Presets

mildly_disappointed

whatsapp_renaissance

ai_slop_deluxe

android_2011

corporate_pdf_screenshot

random_damage

Examples

Send JSON input and get JSON output in one request.

bash

BASE64_IMAGE=$(base64 < photo.jpg | tr -d '\n')

curl -X POST "https://api.worst.technology/v1/degrade" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer mw_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{
    \"image_base64\": \"$BASE64_IMAGE\",
    \"preset\": \"whatsapp_renaissance\",
    \"output_format\": \"jpeg\",
    \"intensity\": 70
  }"

Pricing

Pay-as-you-go. Buy credits once; they never expire. 1 credit = 1 processed image. New accounts start with free credits.

Starter$5

100 credits · 100 images

Buy in dashboard

Pro$15

1,000 credits · 1,000 images

Buy in dashboard

Business$100

10,000 credits · 10,000 images

Buy in dashboard

Payments are processed securely by Stripe. We never see your card details.

Errors

Status	Meaning
401	Missing, invalid or revoked API key
402	Out of credits — top up to continue
413 / 415	File too large, or unsupported format
429	Rate limit exceeded

Errors return JSON: { "error": "message" }